


Behind Curtains of Velvet

by moomilkymoon



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 乐华七子NEXT | NEX7, 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Circus, Dark Magic, Enemies to Lovers, Horror, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, M/M, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Are Hard, What Was I Thinking?, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 18:07:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20800721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moomilkymoon/pseuds/moomilkymoon
Summary: A circus moves from town to town to perform for the larger public. On the outside they seem magical- with glittered bodies and freakish skill. The acts are loved by many.However, sudden deaths begin to take place when the circus arrives at a certain town, most believed to be murders. These murders are not committed by anything human.(Okay so Ziyi is trying to solve the murders and Xukun is taking ppl out left and right. Probs an enemies to lovers thing. That's it that's the fic. Goodnight.)





	Behind Curtains of Velvet

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try writing ZhengKun but my ZiKun ass came out again. 
> 
> Also I actually don"t know what this AU is like I'm so sorry I'm in a spooky season mood because October is just around the corner.

**Welcome to The Circus!  
** **Buy your tickets now for your own dose of sweets, carnival games and immeasurable freaks!**  
**Take a fun night out for the whole family!**

**Tonight's special show: The Contortionist**

Acts:

Circus leaders: Qin Fen, Han Mubo  
Contortionist: Theo Zhu (Zhu Zhengting)  
Trapeze: August (Cai Xukun), Lin Chaoze, Ding Zeren  
Acrobats: Li Quanze, Lu Dinghao, Huang Xinchun  
Juggler: Mr.Bi (Bi Wenjun)  
Fortune Teller: You Zhangjing  
Lion Tamer: Zhu Xingjie  
Tightrope walkers: Chen Linong, Fan Chengcheng, Justin  
Fire performance: Lin Yanjun  
Knife throwing: Xiao Gui  
Mime: Zhou Rui

_ The last remaining cluster of witches move from town to town under the image of a friendly Circus provided for the public. Within that special Circus, they hide their true identities behind a curtain made of velvet..._

"So the beauty is hiding a beast within." 

The man murmured against the other's ear. It came throaty and sultry, and sounded with a twisted spur of desperation. The scent of alcohol dripped off his breath and burned like melted wax against open skin. Xukun feigned an innocent smile and bit the end of his lip, which was already swollen and flushed from what had ensued from the encounter until then. He laced his arms around the other's neck, honeyed curls falling over fluttering lashes. The act itself was enough to send the man astray. And he suddenly felt willing to pursue audacious behaviors, shedding the expected bearings he had previously held for himself. His bulbous fingers grappled the other's hips where his shirt had been lifted and dug his thumbs into the inner flesh. Impatience emerged through a low groan and the blonde was pushed him deeper into the cold, brick wall. Darkness had begun to seep into the palette of purple and blues above them, and as the outside blackness protruded over the rest, Xukun felt his own blood dance with so much excitement his fingertips went numb. An amber street light from afar trickled into view, but the alleyway stood otherwise veiled and empty. There wasn't a soul in sight. Xukun saw it as the perfect opportunity to conduct his own yearnings, which were grossly divergent those of the man before him. He waited, allowing a fallacious air to consume the victim before him. 

"So many times I've watched you, little acrobat. From a distance, I could only admire those bodily motions. But now that I see you like this, I can't believe the circus was hiding such a gem. Are all the circus freaks so pretty?" He murmured against the other's jaw, lips grazing over the flesh. And without waiting for a reply, he bent in, desirous and itching for more. He began biting and sucking on the other's neck until he heard lustful sounds twirling in his ears. He pressed a groan into the flesh, begging for something more. Xukun obliged, traveling his fingers down to the man's waistband. The man slammed a hand against the wall, eager and wanting. The blonde's hands were so gentle and teasing around his abdomen. So close.

Then, a sharp pain.

The man pulled away instantaneously, mouth ajar and eyes widened. His gaze flickered to his own abdomen, where blood spilled without rest. His shirt was ripped open and a knife was impaled into his lower stomach. His eyes shot up, back to Xukun. The blonde's expression remained the same, but there was an inkling of excitement in his otherwise lustful looking orbs. He pulled his innocent smile at the man again before shoving the weapon deeper and twisting it sideways. Just as a scream of terror emerged from the other's throat, Xukun spun them around in a single, swift motion, switching their positions so that the other would be against the wall. The blonde's free hand traveled to the man's mouth and held it closed. When the man seemed near unconsciousness, he pulled his hand back and placed a finger over his lips. And it was only at that moment that the man noticed the strange tattoo painted over his lip in ebon hued ink. Eventually, he yanked the weapon out. The man coughed blood, spluttering it over his chest. When he fell to the floor the blonde stood over him and rammed his foot against the other's head, positioning his cheek against the cold, damp ground. Weak pleads of mercy emerged from the fallen man and yet none of them reached consideration. Xukun cocked his head to the side, eyes apathetic to the man's diluting begs. He spoke once before leaving the scene. 

"Actually, darling, I'm not an acrobat. I'm a trapezist." 

With the kick of a foot against head, Xukun walked out of the alleyway, a human soul in hand. 

The man was right, after all. He was hiding a beast beneath his beauty. 

His eyes flashed a hollow blackness. The tattoo over his lip glowed. 

***

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! I finally present to you the act you've all been waiting for!" The Circus Leader, Qin Fen, raised an arm. He grinned with a twinkle in his eye. The pause came with an air of anticipation from the crowd. They leaned forward tentatively, all awaiting the name they had gathered to witness. "The best contortionist in the world! Theo Zhu!" 

The crowd cheered like animals, and high above the ground stood the mentioned. He was on a pedestal, staying still at first- a portrait for the liking of others. The contortionist's body was long and slender. His chest was bare, revealing carefully carved abs through a lifetime of intense and inhumane training. Strapped between his biceps, tight, metal rings fixated themselves against sparkling skin. The man always drowned himself in glitter before appearing on stage. He did so to further reinforcing his image as a mythical being, as someone separate from every other human sitting below him. It was what the crowd wished for, because it was magical to see something out of the ordinary. But with it there came an innate realization that he was harmless. That it was just a show. Zhengting chuckled internally at times, because if they knew what he really was, surely they would ostracize him. Because the real creature didn't need glitter and a pedestal. The real monster was within, and it resembled every other human. 

Zhengting found it ironic, but didn't waste his time pondering over that irony. 

His legs were garbed in white, fitted pants, only reaching just below the knees. They hugged onto his flesh and held every crevice and curve in place. The pearly colour only reinforced his angelic presence- an image to veil a soul tinted in black. Around his eyes came a smokey, magenta shadow, and colourful sparkles trickled down his cheekbones. Rosy, shining lips remained unmoving, just as the rest of his face did, for the man was not meant to be seen as emotional but rather, unrealistic. A sight for the pleasing of others. His long strands of hair loosened like chocolate waterfalls over his forehead and his flawless, glass-like skin gave the man an air of a statue. 

Then he moved. 

The music played and the man began his routine. The music started gentle, but it grasped onto the others' senses. The contortionist moved with ease, twisting and turning so calmly some wondered if he had any bones at all. The man was refined, keeping a stilled expression through the pulls and pains emerging from his muscles. It sparked sporadic gasps and awe from the audience. But the contortionist was only just beginning. When the music began to build, the audience knew the show would really begin. Zhengting pulled a leg over his back and his foot pointed down to his nose. He then brought the other to the side, bending it so far it triggered shouts of horror and amazement from the spectators. The music quickened and he drew even closer to freakish flexibility. The beads of sweat watering down his temples only highlighted the sparkling man as he performed every motion to the music. As he swallowed every wince. As he held every muscle. As he surged through the flaming pain spreading like a plague over every inch of muscle in his body. 

The show ended with a loud applause and standing ovation. Zhengting bowed before leaving the stage. And behind the velvet curtain, he could hear that Qin Fen had bed them goodnight before spieling over their next show. 

Zhengting returned to the dressing tent, body tense and sore from his night. There, he was met with a few others from the circus. The first duo he laid eyes on was the juggler and one of the acrobats, Ding Zeren. The former was laying on the acrobats lap, tucked away in sleep. Since juggling was less physically demanding than many of the other acts, Wenjun was prone to have a show every time the circus opened- if not multiple times a day, unlike some of the other acts who performed much less frequently. It tended to pull the juggler to a state of restlessness. Zhengting smiled softly at the sight. Something about seeing his boyfriend in gentle sleep was endearing. 

"Nice show today 'Ting!" Zeren ejaculated as he chewed on a corn dog from the food truck. Zhengting caught the towel the other threw at him and wiped the sweat glands from his temples.  
"Thanks, I still have trouble doing that last twist, though." Was what he replied seconds before feeling a smack in the head. Across the tent, Justin and Chengcheng both looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Zhengting looked at the object and immeditavly identified it as one of Wenjun's juggling props. He gave them a stern look.  
"I swear if you two keep throwing things around in the tent-"  
"But we can't leave the tent right now, there are too many people out." Justin groaned. 

As predominant acts within the circus, it was mandatory for the majority of them to remain out of sight whilst the circus was open to the larger public. Being detected by any outsider took from the 'magical' aspect they emitted through their outlandish skills. So they carried on in hiding. The only time they permitted themselves to wander in bustling areas was under the condition of cloaking themselves.  
"Put on a cloak." Zhengting replied shortly.  
"We can't! Yanjun lit our cloaks on fire after we teased him about Zhangjing again! They were burnt to a crisp." Chengcheng whined.  
"He's so sensitive. We were just teasing." The younger added with a small pout.

"Maybe if you weren't such annoying little brats you wouldn't have to deal with anyone's rage." A man emerged from behind another tent. He was small in size and his long, unkempt hair fell to his shoulders. Zhou Rui. "Yanjun really goes after the two of you. And Dinghao."  
"I heard that!" Dinghao sounded from the corner of the tent, laying his head over Xinchun's shoulder, who sat next to him. The latter was submerged under a large piece of paper- unsurprisingly. He loved reading newspapers he found abandoned on the ground, it brought him a sense of community with humans, Zhengting decided. The brunette looked around then, eyebrows drawn together. It seemed that many of them were missing. 

"Where is everyone?" He asked to nobody in particular. Zhou Rui answered instantly. The man seemed to know everything that went on in their lives, and a few of the other's often complained about the Mime's unwelcomed meddling nature. Zhengting came to appreciate it in particular circumstances. As someone who was often troubled over their secrecy from an intolerant public, he appreciated that another spent an equal amount of time over-analyzing the others' whereabouts, despite doing for differing, and perhaps impish, reasons. 

"Han Mubo and Qin Fen are doing their thing. Nongs, Quanze and Xiao Gui went out for some sweets some time ago- wearing cloaks. Zhangjing is at his own tent and Yanjun is obviously there too- why? A fire performer has no reason to be at a fortune-teller's tent. He says he helps Zhangjing carry some things like we're all idiots or something. Who does he take us for? We all know he's out there flirting with Zhangjing or some gross shit like that. Anyway, Xingjie is preparing for a later show and Chaoze is using the washroom." Zhou Rui went on, crossing his arms over his chest and laying recumbent on a dresser near the far corner of the tent. Dinghao raised an eyebrow at the accumulation of information, but nobody questioned it- it was Zhou Rui, after all.

Zhengting thought over the information before speaking again.  
"What about Xukun? His show finished two hours ago."  
Zhou Rui shrugged. "Beats me. That kid goes off whenever he feels like it. Thought I saw him slipping away after his show, though."  
Everyone in the tent exchanged anxious looks. Zhengting glowered at the thought, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Not again." 

***

"Another murder." 

Jeffrey stood from where he examined the fallen victim. The eyes were still wide open with such fear that his eyelids disappeared behind the crevice of skin, and all that was seen was the whites of his eyes, enlarged in his final moments of life. The blood trickled and weaved its way around the cobblestone path, intertwining itself with the remnant puddles of rain. There was an indentation on the side of his forehead, visibly boot marks. They left blooming, purple bruises down the side of his temple. Jeffrey shook his head at the sight. 

"But it seems like a regular stab wound. Do we know it's a witch's doing? Couldn't it have been committed by any human?" He asked, eyes darting to the man before him. A man named Zhou Yanchen, who was a prosperous medic and scientist. The mentioned kept his eyes over the stab wound. With gloves, he looked over and dabbled with the injury for a few minutes before standing once again. He sighed once, giving the body a last pitiful look before turning his gaze to the other.  
"The weapon was just a regular dagger, but I assume it was enchanted. You can tell because the wound isn't really that deep, not deep enough for death, anyway. It was aggressive, sure, but it really should not have caused instant death. And the most prevalent clue," he stuck out a glass container, where a sample of some of the man's blood stilled, "there's a black tint to his blood. So there's no doubt about it, this murder was committed by a witch. Need I add that is body is already freezing over?" 

Jeffrey sighed as the other stored the container away safely.  
"Witches should be long gone by now, I don't understand how they could have returned so suddenly." He said before turning to the man in charge. "What should we do?" 

Ziyi stared at the lifeless body, pondering over his thoughts for a moment before replying.  
"Too many deaths have emerged recently to be ignored. I would suggest a thorough search, but the peace of the town should not be disturbed. Until now the deaths have poured in sporadically, and there is usually more than one at a time before a period of silence. This one is strange, though. It's in an empty alleyway and there's only one. If I had to say, I assume the killing today had been committed on impulse." He averted his gaze from the body, meeting that of his comrades. "Tomorrow there is a gathering at a pub nearby. It seems that most of the killings are brought forth during loud and crowded events. Moreover, aside from this one, there has not been a mass killing in awhile. We know witches live off the souls of humans, so we should assume a hunt will emerge very soon, lest they want to starve. I suggest we do our search at any events coming forth." 

The other two nodded, and they returned back onto their horses, heading for their tavern. They left the frozen body under the peaking hours of darkness. There was no point in burying it, after all. When a human is killed by a witch, it runs cold at an inhuman pace and after a few hours pass, the body disappears. Left behind with the ideology of a missing person. 

***

When the blonde returned later that evening, Zhengting waited for him with arms crossed over his chest. The several circus acts lived together in two small cabins near the area. It was situated in a reserved and seldom visited part of town, being inside a forest on the outskirts of town. Xukun walked in, disheveled and tired. He had a coal coloured jacket thrown over his shoulders and shabby, oversized pants hung over his slim physique. 

"Out playing alone again?" Zhengting asked, unamused.  
"I got bored. Sitting around in a circus isn't exactly the most stimulating thing- if you can believe it." The other shrugged as the comment drowning in sarcasm left his tongue. He shuffled deeper into the room and grabbed an apple from the counter, juggling it in his hands a few times before taking a large bite out of it. Zhengting thinned his lips at Xukun's obvious lack of awareness concerning the gravity of the situation. The blonde raised his eyebrows and started towards the stairs.  
"Xukun." Zhengting said, putting a hand over the other's arm to stop his escape from their conversation. The latter sighed.

"Nobody saw me, 'Ting. You worry too much."  
"Did you wear your mask, at least?" The elder asked, staring at Xukun's tattoo. It was an old pattern that resided on his bottom lip and dribbled down over his chin. When taking the souls of humans, it would glow an eerie, electric blue. The tattoo was a mark all of them had, albeit in different places. It was the mark of a witch. Being on his lower lip, Xukun's was the most obvious. Which was a pain in the ass for them, since he was also the hardest to control and often acted impulsively and dangerously.  
"Yeah…" he muttered with averted vision. He kicked his foot back and forth, scathing the ground a few times, "...at the beginning."  
Zhengting groaned, placing his fingertips over the bridge of his nose. 

"Look, Xukun, as far as the world knows witches have been wiped out. Do you understand? That's the only thing keeping us from being hunted endlessly. That's why it's _crucial_ that we keep our guard up and heads down."  
_"I know."_ The other whined. "But I needed to let out some steam today, you know how it is, 'Ting. It's in my _nature._"  
"_Our nature_, and yet the rest of us stick to the schedule."  
"Okay! Good for you guys!" He exclaimed sarcastically as he made his way around the brunette. Zhengting spun around.  
"Xukun, please-"  
"Look, 'Ting, I know you're trying to keep us all safe and out of trouble, and I appreciate that, but I can't be tied down all the time. Killing, curses, enchantments- this is in my blood. It's who I am. Mine screams louder than yours. I can't just," he gestured around vaguely, "bury it away." 

"I know, it's hard." Zhengting nodded understandingly. Every witch's blood churned differently. Xukun's just happened to be the strongest, and the hardest to control. "But for our sake, please try to hold back from intuition just a little. I need to make sure we're all safe and out of trouble. And I mean all of us. That includes you, Xukun. We're going on a hunt tomorrow anyway, you could have held off."

Xukun didn't answer, merely leaving for the stairs with a small grunt of comprehension.

They had two cabins, one owned by Han Mubo and the other by Qin Fen, who both got their own rooms. The rest were split into two groups of eight, each group in one cabin. They were then split once more, each placed in a room of four. Xukun shuffled into his own room. Wenjun was already asleep, whereas Zhou Rui quickly met eyes with the man as he entered. He was lying on his bed with his hands behind his head.  
"Overheard everything." The elder said flatly.  
"Nosy dipshit." Xukun shot with a low grumble, climbing the small ladder to reach the single bed on the level above. 

It was near a small, circular window that he liked to look out of. From there, he could see the long horizon of woodland, extending farther than the eye could reach. He tapped on the glass a few times, wishing for a moment that maybe being born human would have been easier. But his own adventurous and daredevil like blood told him otherwise. That it would be impossible to live a normal life. A few minutes later, Zhengting entered without a word. In spite of turning his back, Xukun could feel the elder's eyes burning at him. The man huffed into his pillow when Zhengting finally climbed into his own bed, and he fell into sleep musing over the hunt they would have the following day.

***

When the moon pulled a blanket of darkness over daylight, the witches' absconded with their secrets and slipped into town. For every hunt, there came a selection of a few witches to launch the attack. They never went all at once, as a practical swarm of magical beings would be too perilous for their own welfare. Thus, they stuck with the few elected. On that night, they chose Zhengting, Zeren, Dinghao, Mubo and Xiao Gui. Xukun joined along anyway, and Zhengting refrained from scolding him under the impression that the other might cause even more trouble if he was excluded from the event. So the blonde stood at their sides as the group ran to the gathering. 

They made sure to cover up every witch's mark. As Xukun's was the most conspicuous of the bunch, he wore a half a mask that he had gotten ahold of in the circus props. It's original intention had been a clown mask for sale, but the man had stolen it and cut it so that it only covered only the lower half of his face. Zhengting was the luckiest of the group, as his was on his thigh, and barely ever in view anyway. 

They had their own ideas on how things would be done or brought forth. Some of them liked enchanting people. Some poisoned discreetly with drinks. And some, like Xukun, killed gruesomely. The only thing they gained from the act was the soul of a human. The souls of humans kept them alive, and gave them a sense of power. Dinghao had once compared it to a drug- and received a sharp slap at the back of the head from Zhengting.  
_"Don't say that. People can quit drugs if they want. We have no choice."_  
He had replied sternly. Many of them liked to justify their savage and menacing acts through the biological aspects that came with being a witch. Some preferred- as Zhou Rui coined- not giving two damns. 

The party went in, and immediately, they were overpowered by loud chatter and surrounded by drinking crowds. Mubo gave them a look with blackened orbs and they all dispersed within the mob. Xukun found himself immediately going outside the pub, where an old alleyway would be found. Whilst others preferred doing their killings in secrecy, hidden behind large crowds, Xukun couldn't. Since the blonde's taking of souls always resulted in a rather messy end, he left for a secluded area. Suddenly, he was grabbed by the shoulder. It was Zhengting.  
"I won't go far." Xukun uttered when he noticed the look on the other's face.  
"Be careful." The man warned. Xukun nodded before leaving the loud mass of people. 

He stepped into the alleyway just outside the pub, head low and the pace fast. He wanted to get far from the crowd without actually leaving the venue. And he wanted to do it as fast as possible. There were a few distracting individuals leaning against walls. They grumbled at each other, some called and beckoned him forward, laughing at each other's drunken antics. One in particular had gotten ahold of his arm and threw him against the wall. It was followed by loud, derisive cackles. Xukun smirked under his mask. He was a man much older with a crooked, wanting smile. His yellow teeth were half lost and the remaining already rotting away. His breath was pungent in stench, reeking of heavy alcohol. It was disgusting, but Xukun didn't feel threatened. Despite the dominant looks he received, the witch knew he could win any fight in a heartbeat. 

The older man pulled the mask off of the other's face and their lips met with a certain assertiveness. It was easy, Xukun thought, to do it this way. They basically _begged_ him to be alone together. It wasn't his fault they thought him to be human. It wasn't his fault they so naively _assumed_ he was with them for sex. That he wasn't dangerous. That he didn't have any inborn intention to kill. That he wouldn't tear them apart. So he led the other on, pushing his mouth against the man's. 

"Somewhere- somewhere private." The man grumbled against his lips once he heard the other men inching forward. Xukun nodded compliantly- he too had wanted to move somewhere private, albeit for different reasons. The blonde followed the other deeper into the alleyway, keeping his head low. Under a veil of darkness, they wouldn't notice his tattooed lip. Additionally, they were too drunk to care, he told himself- not that they'd identify it as much, anyway. But after a minute of walking, Xukun felt himself being pulled aside by one of the other's. 

"You got to have one last time- now- my turn" He said between slurs, throwing an empty cup away in the process. Truthfully told, Xukun didn't care which one it was, as long as the deed was carried out. This man was much larger in size compared to the other, looking rather oafish- almost like an angry gorilla- albeit much uglier than one, Xukun thought wickedly. The men bickered for awhile and Xukun felt himself lose patience. He needed to kill. _Now._ He sighed.  
"I'll be here again another time, yeah?" He showed the man a smile and fluttered his lashes a few times. The other stared at him for awhile, eyes darting all over his face- as though staying fixated over one, singular section would burn them from the inside. Xukun cocked his head to the side with a small, ingenuous pout- an act that bled of plastic, because he knew all too well what the other man battled with. It was an illusion some witches could master- a defense mechanism to stop people from recognizing them. No matter how hard they tried, the witch's face would never puzzle together. Xukun pulled the trick out hoping it would bring one of two cases. The first- the confusion would be too much for the man and he would leave him to the older man. The second- it would spark his curiosity enough to decide on taking the blonde with him. And with his size, the first man would be of no nuisance. 

To the witch's own dismay, it didn't work how he wanted it to. Somewhere along the spell, the two men had agreed that they could share him in a series of drunken communication through awkward eye contact. Xukun felt the larger man hold his arms back as the odious one inched forward, eyes repulsively desiring and tongue drooling. 

_Well, fuck. This isn't good._ The blonde thought as the first began fondling over his clothes. Xukun cursed internally. Killing one was easy, two would be doable had his arms not been held back. He began scanning through the items he carried, drafting a last minute escape from the displeasing turn of events. 

His enchanted dagger? Not available. It rested inside his belt, which he couldn't reach without free hands. A poisoned bottle? Also unattainable as it was inside his pocket of his coat. His poisoned ring? _That could work._ He thought. 

Just as he felt the man behind him place his lips over the blonde's ear, Xukun bent his wrist backwards and positioned it where he assumed the man's neck would be. His eyes blackened and he muttered a curse in an ancient language. Instantly, a small knife emerged from the ring and extended itself rapidly, impaling the flesh before it. The man immediately retracted with a loud grunt, holding his neck in pain. The blonde then dug his knee into the first's stomach, sending the hit with so much ferocity, the other coughed out an unnatural amount of mucus. When he stumbled back, the blonde wasted no time acting again. Compared to the witch, the men were terribly slow- almost offensively so. Xukun got down to the floor and swung his leg out and around powerfully, sending the smaller flying to the ground, back first. 

He heard the larger man coming up behind and immediately ducked- evading his ponderous attack with a wicked grin. Whilst the vacuous oaf was entirely too busy processing the witch's escape, Xukun snatched a bottled from his side pocket and drank it in a single gulp. Once he spun back around, the bigger was coming towards him again. Xukun breathed out a heavy breath, and a deep, violet fog materialized in the air as soon as it left his mouth. When the colour reached the man's face, it burned instantaneously at the open flesh- causing bubbles of white and rips of red and black to peel from his skin. The fear in their orbs was almost amusing to the attacker. 

Both panicked and frantic, Xukun considered leaving them there. 

Then he thought of a better idea. 

He grabbed the duel swords strapped to his back, hidden under his coat. They were long and thin and the handle's held an image that matched the one over his lip. In a swift motion, he sliced an X across both men. They fell over. Their final breaths escaped them and their souls were stolen. 

Xukun breathed heavily, not appreciating the sudden change of events that sent him to impulsive action, but still having a sense of pride for being able to kill them both without a scratch on himself. He heard rustling and faint human chatter several meters away and quickly ran, leaving his mask on the alleyway's damp floor. He placed his swords back where they came from and sprinted for an escape. When he turned there was a dead end, so the man entered the first room he saw. He made sure it was still part of the pub's extension and entered without a second thought. He hadn't realized, but there was a wide grin adorning his lips. Though the fight was laggard in all senses following the initial shock of having to defeat both at once, Xukun found a sickening thrill in it. Without looking inside the room he set foot in, the man turned around and locked the door. Then he peeked out from the small window on that door, looking to see if he had been followed. Being garbed in black did help his escape, he thought to himself encouragingly. 

"Can I help you?" 

He heard a voice from behind. Immediately Xukun spun around, guard up again. Thankfully, there was only one man. He was a young man who had probably not even reached his mid-twenties. His hair was the colour of raven's wings and dipped below his cheekbones. His face was sharp and yet there came a delicate air to his expression. His eyes took on a colour of dull copper. He wore an ash gray trench coat and beneath it, a shirt made of silk. He had papers and books sprawled over a desk near the back corner. There was a long bookshelf near the man and a few dusted paintings hanging on the walls surrounding them. Otherwise, the room was empty. Xukun's eyes jumped around for a minute before noticing where the man looked. His lips. The man squinted his eyes and tilted his head. 

"Er- who are you?" Xukun asked. The man paused for a moment before answering.  
"Wang Ziyi. I'm…" he paused again, eyes fixated on the other's lip. "And who are you if I may ask?" He added with more assertion.  
"Ah…" Xukun's smiled innocently and bit his lip. "I'm... just trying to find another entrance to the pub." He added dismissively.  
He noticed a door on the other side of the small room that he assumed must have been the way to the main area. He began walking carefully, all the while he kept eye contact with the man, who's eyes remained locked on his lip. Unease stirred inside the witch and he quickened his steps. But before Xukun could leave the man stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Xukun held his breath. Zhenting would scold him for two bloody kills, but three? He couldn't. Especially a man who looked _rich_ and _important_, he thought annoyedly. It would call for too much of a disturbance, and he decided he would have to escape instead.

The black haired man reached forward and took the blonde's chin into his hand. Xukun allowed it, feeling a flicker of curiosity pass over him. It wasn't often that he received gentle touches, as they all primarily came with a certain level of aggression. Ziyi placed his thumb over the bottom lip, bending it downwards to inspect all of it. His eyes widened- almost in horror and yet a glimmer of interest swept over them. When Xukun took note of it he immediately swatted the other's hand away, covering his mouth with his own. He wished suddenly that he hadn't left that mask in the alleyway with the two dead bodies. And he hated how right Zhengting was about being wary. Still, the man didn't move, his orbs paused over the ink. It was as though he wanted to memorize the pattern. Xukun knew he couldn't, not whilst the spell was still cast over his face, leaving him incomplete. Perhaps the piercing gaze was a result of that spell. Xukun glanced down at the paperwork to avoid those persistent and interested eyes. 

It was the final straw. Sprawled on the desk were textbooks and old papers filled with accumulated information on witches and witch hunting. The most daunting of them all a picture of a witch burning on a stake. Xukun felt himself back away on instinct.

Neither of them spoke and yet both knew what the other was thinking. Instantly, Xukun threw his dagger at the other- who only narrowly avoided death. When Ziyi had recovered from his dodge, he came to notice that the other had already fled. In a fit of confusion subsequent to the thrown weapon, Xukun opened the door and slipped behind it. After several seconds he heard the black haired man follow him, but managed to slip within a crowd. He squeezed through, searching for another member of his kind. He caught Mubo and immediately hissed at the man. When their eyes met Xukun shifted his own to a shade of black. Instantly, Mubo went to gather the other's as Xukun sprinted back to the cabin. The rest would join him later, but he needed to get away then and there. Someone had found out about him, after all. 

Meanwhile, when Ziyi had internalized that he lost the blonde witch, he decided on tracing his steps back to where the other came from. It led him to two dead bodies not far from where they had met, which he deemed to be unfortunate, yet regrettably, unsurprising. And next to them there lay half a clown's mask. He picked it up, and immediately, he knew he had his first clue. The only place they had that design. 

The Circus.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm curious to know what people think of this au? I don't know if I'll continue this fic or not tbh but we'll see if I get in a spooky mood again lmao. Is it something anyone would be interested in? Like I said it's not exactly a common au hhhhjgnfj also I'm very much immersed in my other fic atm 
> 
> Also I know I mentioned a mask in this fic I promise it's only there for the tattoo and isnt a huge metaphor + part of the fic like my other one lmaoo


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